In recent years, there has been a substantial amount of research effort directed to reducing the amount of fat, particularly saturated fat, in foods. In particular, there is great interest in reducing the level of fat in cheese products. When the fat is removed from cheese, however, certain characteristics develop that limit the performance of the cheese product. These characteristics may be considered "defects" by consumers. It would be desirable, therefore, to develop a natural shredded cheese product which has very low levels of fat but which does not exhibit these characteristics.
Common consumer complaints regarding fat-free cheese products include a notable stickiness in the mouth when the product is consumed cold and the rapid formation of a thick "skin" in melted applications. In full-fat products, the presence of fat prevents the expression of these defects. The fat provides a level of lubrication which prevents the sensation of stickiness as the product is chewed. Further, in the case of melted applications, the fat at the surface of the melted cheese prevents rapid moisture loss due to evaporation, which results in the skin formation.
It would be desirable, therefore, to provide a reduced-fat, low-fat or fat-free natural shredded cheese which retains the body, texture, organoleptic properties, meltability and other desirable properties of natural cheese. It also would be desirable to provide a method of making a reduced-fat, low-fat or fat-free cheese wherein the positive benefits or characteristics of fat are maximized, but the amount of fat required is minimized. The present invention provides such a product and method.